1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator.
2. Background
In general, a refrigerator includes a plurality of storage chambers in which stored goods are accommodated in a frozen state or a refrigerated state, and surfaces of the storage chambers are opened such that the food can be withdrawn. The plurality of storage chambers include a freezing chamber configured to store food in a frozen state and a refrigerating chamber configured to store food in a refrigerated state.
A refrigeration system in which refrigerant circulates is operated in the refrigerator. Devices constituting the refrigeration system include a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device and an evaporator. The refrigerant may be evaporated while passing through the evaporator, and in this process, air passing through the vicinity of the evaporator may be cooled. Further, the cooled air may be supplied to the freezing chamber or the refrigerating chamber. In general, the evaporator is installed on a rear side of the storage chambers and extends vertically.
In recent years, enlarging an inner storage space, specifically, the storage chambers, of the refrigerator is a main concern of consumers. Thus, there have been a large number of efforts to reduce a space accommodating components of the refrigeration system required in the refrigerator and to relatively increase the volumes of the storage chambers. However, as described above, when the evaporator is provided on the rear side of the storage chambers, there is a difficulty in that the sizes of the storage chambers used to be reduced to secure a space for installation of the evaporator.
In particular, the refrigerator includes drawers that may be withdrawn forwards from the storage chambers. There is a problem in that as the sizes, in particular, the front to-back lengths, of the storage chambers are reduced due to arrangement of the evaporator, and accordingly, the withdrawal distances of the drawers are reduced. When the withdrawal distances of the drawers are reduced a drawer spaced is reduced, it is inconvenient for a user to accommodate food in the drawers.
To solve the above-described problems, installing the evaporator in a partition wall by which the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber are partitioned has been developed. In a side-by-side refrigerator in which a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamber are arranged on left and right sides of the refrigerator, because a partition wall vertically extends between the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber, defrosting water generated by an evaporator may be easily discharged. However, in a refrigerator in which a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber are arranged on upper and lower sides of the refrigerator, because a partition wall transversely extends between the freezing chamber and the refrigerating chamber, it is difficult to discharge defrosting water generated by an evaporator.
Information on the related art will be described below.
1. European Patent No. EP 2,694,894 (published on Mar. 23, 2016)
2. Title of the invention: COMBINATION DEVICE FOR REFRIGERATION
A technology of installing an evaporator in a partition wall by which a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber are separated from each other in a refrigerator in which the refrigerating chamber is located at an upper portion of the refrigerator and the freezing chamber is located at a lower portion of the refrigerator is disclosed in the above related art. However, the evaporator according to the related art is inclined downwards toward a rear end. Such arrangement of the evaporator is to easily discharge defrosting water generated by the evaporator to a lower side. However, because the evaporator is inclined toward the rear end, the thickness of the partition wall for arranging an insulator and the evaporator may be increased. When the thickness of the partition wall is increased, storage chambers of the refrigerator become relatively smaller.
Further, a lower surface of the partition wall is inclined downward due to the inclined arrangement of the evaporator, and correspondingly, a side surface of a drawer provided at an upper portion of the freezing chamber is inclined downward toward the rear end. In this case, storage ability for food deteriorates.
According to the arrangement of the evaporator according to the related art, because a fan is located directly behind the evaporator, the defrosting water generated by the evaporator flows into the fan, and thus the fan may malfunction. Further, when cold air having high humidity passes through the fan, condensed water may be generated in the fan. According to the related art, a separate water passage to discharge the condensed water of the fan is not provided, and the condensed water flows to a duct to which the cold air is supplied. In this case, frost caused by the condensed water is in the duct.
A tray collecting the defrosting water must to be provided on a lower side of the evaporator. According to the arrangement of the evaporator according the related art, to decrease the thickness of the partition wall as much as possible, the tray should be provided on the lower side of the evaporator to be very close to the evaporator. In this case, because the defrosting water stored in the tray is frosted, heat exchange performance of the evaporator deteriorates.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.